Turnadette Series 7 Speculation Fics
by turnt4turnadette
Summary: Like Turnadette Series 6 Speculation Fics, this is my collection of fics that I write the week before a new episode airs about what I think might happen based off of summaries and pictures from Series 7
1. Back to Work (CS 2017)

Patrick was brushing his teeth that rigid cold morning, already dreading shoveling the snow out of the driveway to get to the maternity home. There was still no power which was going to make his job a lot harder just like it had the day before. Yesterday was exhausting and he imagined that today wouldn't be any different. Having a one month old baby made getting rest not very easy which made him already tired before the day had even started. He rinsed off his toothbrush and put it in the case. He walked out of the lavatory and into the master bedroom to change out of his pajamas. What he did not expect to find was Shelagh in there changing into her nursing uniform.

"Shelagh what are you doing?" he asked

"I'm going to work with you today sweetheart. The children will be coming along too so Timothy can watch the little ones and we can be close by if he needs any help. I will need Teddy close by so I can feed him because I haven't had a chance to manually express my milk" she answered

"You just had a baby a month ago, you need to stay at home" said Patrick

"You look exhausted as it is and I know it can't be easy running the maternity home without power. You need all of the help you can get" Shelagh told him

"I know you are exhausted too, but I can get more help from Nonnatus" he replied

"They all have a heavy workload too and I miss working" said Shelagh

"Are you sure?" he questioned

"Yes, and this will be good for Timothy and Angela, they are starting to get cabin fever" she answered

After he changed, he went downstairs to find the children dressed and eating breakfast. He looked on the settee to find that a bag of toys had already been packed for Angela along with a diaper bag for Teddy. He was once again amazed by how diligent his wife was as a mother. And when he saw her with the patients later that day, he was in awe with how well she worked despite everything going on. His day was better just by having her around and he realized just how much he missed her working with her. He didn't think it was possible, but fell in love with her even more that day.


	2. Telling Him (7x01)

Shelagh took a deep breath as she entered the front area of the surgery that day. She had finally decided on hiring an au pair to come live in their home. She could return to work along with having someone there 24/7 to watch the children and help with housework. She just wasn't sure how her family would handle having a stranger living in their home, to be honest it would take her a little while to adjust, but the possible benefits outweighed the possible risks. She also wasn't sure how Patrick would react to the news, she had done her research on her own and decided to tell him when she knew for sure, which happened to be right now. She made her way across the surgery and knocked on Patrick's office door.

"Come in" he said

She opened the door, closed it behind her and she watched look up from his paperwork. He smiled at her when he realized who it was and asked "Hello Shelagh"

"Hello love" she replied

"Did I forget something?" he asked her

"No, I don't think so" she answered

"I actually needed to tell you something and I didn't want to do it with the children around" she said

"What is it?" he questioned

With complete confidence and certainty, Shelagh told him "We're getting an au pair"

Her heart dropped when she saw the way he furrowed his eyebrows and had a look of disapproval on his face. She didn't know what else she would do if he would not allow this. Mrs. Penney could mind Teddy while Angela goes to nursery, but then when she got home there would be so much housework to do in their big house that there was no way she could accomplish every task.

"I know that it will be strange to have another adult living in our home, but she would be able to help with housework and if we both needed to be called out in the middle of the night someone would be there to mind the children. There is just not enough hours in the day for me to work here and get all the chores done around the house having two little ones now." Shelagh stated

"It will definitely be an adjustment and not quite what I envisioned when I said you could hire someone to help out, but I trust that you have put a lot of thought into this. I miss working with you so much and if this is what it takes to bring you back to work, then I am all for it" he said and smiled at her again

Shelagh smiled back at him and said "Thank you so much, I will get the process started"

"I love you" Patrick told her

"I love you too. I should get back home, Teddy is in the pram in the waiting area and Timothy is at home with Angela. Do you need anything?" Shelagh replied

"I am fine. Hopefully I will be home for dinner" he said

"See you later" she replied and walked out of his office. She pushed the pram out of the surgery relieved now that he knew and she had his support. Now she had to conquer the daunting task of choosing an au pair.


	3. A Quarrel (7x02)

Shelagh and Magda walked up the stairs that night after she had showed her the rest of their daily routine that took place downstairs. She had already showed her Angela's room earlier and she watched Shelagh do their nighttime routine. Patrick went upstairs earlier to take a shower and get ready for bed because she did not need his help showing Magda the ropes and there was no point in him just standing around. After wishing her goodnight, she walked down the hallway into the master bedroom and shut the door. She looked over to see Patrick buttoning up his pajama top, hair still damp from his shower.

"She is definitely interesting" Shelagh said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Well she seems nice, hopefully the kids will warm up to her and she will be a good fit" Patrick said

"She just seems so high maintenance, she has her own coffee pot because "English coffee isn't worth drinking" and it must take at least an hour to get ready in the mornings based on how she waltzed in here looking that glamorous" she said in an aggressive whisper

Patrick gave her a strange look and whispered "Well you are the one who went and completely decided to hire her on your own"

"Well you seem to certainly enjoy her looks" Shelagh whispered with anger

"I was just joking" Patrick replied

"Whatever, I am going to take a shower before Teddy wakes up again" she told him and went into the bathroom.

She let the hot water run on her as her mind flashed back to her argument with Patrick. She could not believe how keen he acted when Magda said that he was "pleasing". It was funny how his attitude suddenly changed about the idea of having an au pair as the night went on. But as she put conditioner in her hair she thought about his comeback about hiring an au pair being her idea alone. She started thinking even further back to the beginning of the whole process and asked herself, was I too bossy when I told him about it? She knew the answer instantly and knew that an apology was due when she finished showering.

She wrapped her hair full of rollers in the piece of fabric that helped keep them intact and clipped it together before going back into the bedroom. "Here goes nothing" she thought to herself. She opened the bathroom door and slow walked back into their room, tentatively peeking over her shoulder to check if he was still awake. She saw that the lamp was on and him reading The Lancet.

"Patrick?" she said

"Yes" he replied

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you and for not giving you a say in the hiring of an au pair, I know that I can be a bit bossy sometimes, being a mum to an infant again just seems to make it worse" she told him as she climbed into bed.

"No, I am sorry for acting so keen over Magda's comment and then for the other comment about how we should of hired one years ago. And I love seeing your assertive side and I am so proud of how that has grown since we have married." Patrick replied as he wrapped his arm around her. She placed her head against his shoulder.

"I should have given you some sort of say" she stated

"Nobody's perfect, not me or you and that is okay because we can learn from this" he told her as he rubbed his thumb against her arm.

"You're right" Shelagh said

After a pause in conversation, she told him "I love you"

"I love you too" he answered

They sat together in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Moments later, he unwrapped his arm from around her shoulder and they turned the lamps off. They went from sitting up in the bed to laying down to go to sleep.

"Goodnight sweetheart" Patrick said

"Goodnight dearest" Shelagh replied

Shelagh went to sleep that night hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.


	4. A Medical Crisis (7x03)

TW: Abortion

Shelagh was at the front desk of the surgery that afternoon sorting through patient files. Things were winding down as Patrick's last patient for the day was in his office receiving his consult. The maternity home was strangely unoccupied at the moment, which did not occur very often and that would probably change in the matter of hours. Shelagh even sent Nurse Dyer home early because she had run out of things for her to do. She got up to put the patient files in when the phone rang. She grabbed the phone to answer expecting it to be a frantic husband telling her his wife who was booked in at the maternity home was coming their way, but she was surprised when it was Timothy who spoke on the other line.

"Mum, is that you?" Timothy asked with a shaky voice

"Yes it is, is everything okay?" she replied with panic rising up within her

"Magda has collapsed" he said hesitantly

"What was she doing before and how long has it been?" she questioned

"She was getting everything out for dinner, but then she sat down a minute at the kitchen table because she looked like she wasn't feeling well and I was able to catch her just before she fell out of her chair. As soon as I set her down on the ground, I picked up the phone to call you." he answered in panic

"And she is bleeding from between her legs" he added

"I am ringing for an ambulance and your dad and I will be there as soon as we can. Just stay with her until we get there" Shelagh told him in the calmest tone that she could muster.

As Shelagh called 999, she heard the door open and Mr. Ellis, the patient Patrick was with walked out with a piece of paper with a prescription written on it. When the operator answered, Shelagh told them that their au pair had collapsed at their house due to a suspected miscarriage and gave her their address. She hung up once she was assured by the operator that an ambulance was headed to their house.

She rushed to Patrick's office and opened the door. He looked at her and she must have looked flustered because he immediately said "Shelagh what has happened?"

"Magda has collapsed and I think that she is having a miscarriage. Timothy called here to inform me of her collapse and said that she was bleeding between her legs. I have called for an ambulance and told him that we would be there as soon as we could" she replied

Patrick jumped from his chair and they promptly closed up the surgery and got into the car. As they were on the road, Patrick said "I know you want to be with Magda, but would probably be best if I went with her and you stay home with the children. We are not her next of kin, but I can get information on her condition as her GP" he said

"That seems like a practical choice. I do feel bad about not being with her, but there is not much that I can do there tonight and someone needs to be with the children" she replied

"I will follow the ambulance to St. Cuthbert's" he told her

They finally arrived after what seemed like a forever long drive to find that the ambulance had already arrived. Patrick pulled off the road and parked as far as he could off the road without being too far into the front yard. They got out very quickly and rushed inside to find that Magda was still unconscious and being placed on a stretcher with Timothy holding Teddy in one arm and holding Angela's hand with the other both of them standing in the kitchen. Once they got her positioned properly, they lifted the stretcher and took her out of the house.

"Are any of you riding with her?" one of the emergency responders asked

"I am going to follow behind you in my car if that is okay" Patrick answered

"Sounds good" he replied

"I'll call you as soon as I know something" he told her

"Alright, see you later" she said

She watched as Patrick walked out of the door and closed the front door. She turned around and walked over to the children and asked Timothy "Are you okay?"

"I just hope that she is going to be okay" he replied

"Me too" she said and grabbed Teddy from his arms

"Hello sweetheart" she said to Teddy in a baby voice and went over to Angela and said "Hello my girl, why don't I go ahead and get dinner started and you can play in the sitting room"

"Magda" she replied and pointed to the floor where she was just unconscious moments ago

Shelagh frowned and replied "She is not feeling good so daddy went with her to the hospital so she can get better"

Satisfied with that answer, she ran back to the sitting room and started playing with her toys. Shelagh put Teddy in his Moses Basket and started cooking dinner as Timothy went up to his room to finish his homework. They ate dinner that night making small talk, but a sense of tension loomed in the air concerning Magda's pending fate. Not long after she had finished cleaning up, the phone rang, which sent chills down her spine. Timothy looked at her from the settee as she went over and answered the phone.

"Turner residence" she said with hesitation

"Shelagh, it's me. The doctors have confirmed her pregnancy and that she is having spontaneous abortion. She is in theatre right now to have the pregnancy removed and will undergo a blood transfusion. She still hasn't regained consciousness. She will not be allowed to have visitors until morning so as soon as I hear how the procedure went I will be heading home" Patrick told her

"I feel so sad for her, hopefully the procedure will be free from complications" Shelagh replied

"Me too" he said

"I'll see you later, love you" he added

"Love you too and I will see you later" she said back and hung up the phone

She turned over to face Timothy and told him "The doctors confirmed her pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. She is having a procedure to remove the pregnancy as we speak and did not regain consciousness before she was taken back to theatre."

"That's terrible, did you or dad know that she was pregnant?" he asked

"No we did not" she answered

"Did dad say when she would be out of theatre?" he questioned

"He did not give an exact time, all that there is left to do is wait" she told him

After the children went to bed that night, an exhausted Patrick came home with news of a successful procedure and with anticipation of a full recovery.

* * *

The next morning, Shelagh woke up a little earlier to call Sister Julienne and explain to her what had happened, by the time things had settled down last night, lauds had already started which was followed by the great silence, making Sister Julienne unreachable. Shelagh decided that it would be best to call in the morning after compline. She told her what had happened and asked her if they could bring Angela and Teddy to Nonnatus for her to watch them while she visited Magda during the daytime visiting hours. She agreed and told her that Magda would be in her prayers.

She woke Timothy up and told him the update on Madga from last night and also informed him the plan for the day that she and Patrick had discussed last night. Timothy would go to school as usual and Angela and Teddy would go to Nonnatus to be looked after. Patrick would then drop off Shelagh at St. Cuthberts to be with Magda during visiting hours and then Shelagh would take the bus back to the surgery. Then during lunch they would get Angela and Teddy from Nonnatus and take Angela to the Nursery while Teddy would come along to the surgery. They would see how the morning visit goes and plan further from there.

With their morning routine complete, Timothy at school along with Angela and Teddy at Nonnatus, Patrick and Shelagh pulled up to St. Cuthberts. After saying their goodbyes, Shelagh got out of the car, with the flowers that they stopped by to get on the way in hand, and entered the hospital. She quickly found her way to the Women's Ward and found the bed Magda was in. She was still unconscious. The nurse took her flowers and brought them back in a vase as she settled in the chair beside her bed.

She grabbed her hand and said "Hello Magda, it's Shelagh and I am here to see you"

She sat and watched people go by and would look over at Magda to see if there was any changes in her condition. Time dragged on slowly as she prayed for her to wake up and for God to be with her though this emotional journey she was about to go on. A little over an hour passed when Shelagh heard her move around in the bed. She looked over to find her fluttering her eyes open.

"Magda?" she said

"Mrs. Turner" she replied in a whisper

"Yes its me, I'm here for you" Shelagh told her

"What happened?" asked Magda

"You had a miscarriage and passed out because you lost a lot of blood. The doctors had to do a procedure to remove the remains of your pregnancy and you had a blood transfusion." Shelagh answered in the steadiest voice she could muster

Magda began to tear up and replied "I'm so sorry"

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for" she said

"Yes I do" Magda stated and motioned for Shelagh to scoot her chair closer to her

"I did this to myself, I wasn't ready to be a mother. I stole some of Dr. Turner's pills and used your nursing books to guide me" she confessed in a whisper before beginning to sob

Shelagh grabbed her hand and replied "You are okay that is all that matters right now and Patrick, the children and I are going to be here for you"

The nurse came to her bed to attempt to calm her down and to carry out an extra assessment for when she woke up.

"Right now it would be best if you leave so she can settle down and by the time I complete her assessment, the morning visiting hours will be over anyway" the nurse told Shelagh

Shelagh reluctantly got up and said "Goodbye Magda, either Patrick or I will come by and see you this afternoon"

"Goodbye Shelagh" Magda replied

It was all Shelagh could do to keep herself from crying on the bus ride to the surgery. She felt awful for not figuring out sooner before it was too late, they could have worked something out. Shelagh's heart broke for Magda thinking of the pain that she felt before ending her pregnancy. She was so deep in thought that she almost missed the bus stop closest to the surgery. After a brisk walk down a couple of blocks, she made it to the surgery and went straight to Patrick's office. She saw that it was opened and thankfully it was just him in there. She walked in and shut the door behind her, which is when the tears started to fall.

"Shelagh what's wrong?" he asked as he walked up to her and grabbed her arms

"She did it herself, she ended her own pregnancy. She told me herself" she told him

Patrick looked at her with shock, and she added "She stole pills from you and used my nursing books as her guide"

"How could I have missed it?" he replied with frustration in his voice

"We didn't figure it out and now it is too late. We could have worked something out, we could have given her more information about adoption, we could have let her keep working for us and keep her baby" she said

"She must have felt so alone and scared. We need to make sure she knows that we are here for her know" he stated

"I said that we would be there for her after she told me" she replied

He hugged her, rubbed her back and said "That's my girl"

The way ahead seemed so uncertain, but as long as they supported one another she knew that everything would be just fine.


	5. Eyes (7x04)

Shelagh was cooking dinner when Patrick came home that late afternoon. She accompanied Sister Monica Joan to her appointment with the ophthalmologist and had the rest of the afternoon off to get caught up on chores.

"Hello dearest" she said loudly so he could hear her

"Hello Shelagh" he replied when he walked into the kitchen

"How was your day?" she asked him

"It went good, no major catastrophes happened today. I'm glad to be home though." he answered

"I'm glad that you had a good day at work" she said

"How was the ophthalmologist visit with Sister Monica Joan?" he questioned

"Getting her to admit that her eyesight is not well was not easy. She was nervous about it, but thankfully I was able to comfort her somewhat during her appointment. He confirmed that she is going to need cataract surgery to fix her eyesight. Although now the hardest part will be to get her to actually go through with the surgery" she told him

"Surgery will make just about anyone nervous and she is probably even more nervous on account of her age" said Patrick

"Yes and then there are the special glasses that she will have to wear for the rest of her life which I imagine is quite a daunting thought for her" Shelagh replied

"They are not the most flattering glasses either" he told her

"I can still remember the first day that I wore my glasses to school when I was a little girl. I was excited that I could read normally again, but some of the other children didn't have nice things to say about them" she said

"If I could go tell each one of them off I would. I think that you look gorgeous in your glasses, they bring out your beautiful blue eyes that I fell in love with" he told her smiling

She felt heat rise up in her cheeks and replied "Thank you and I love your stunning brown eyes"

He stepped closer to her and ran his fingers through her hair. They looked into each other's eyes and Patrick leaned down and kissed the bridge of her glasses, which made Shelagh smile. He kissed her nose and then their lips met. Shelagh wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands were already wrapped around her waist.

Just as their kiss deepened, Timothy came down the kitchen stairs and said "mushy stuff" and rolled his eyes. Patrick and Shelagh broke their embrace, looked at each other and laughed.


	6. A Request (7x05)

Shelagh was sitting at her desk that afternoon when Nurse Anderson left Patrick's office with him following behind her.

She turned towards Shelagh and said smiling "Goodbye Mrs. Turner"

"Goodbye Nurse Anderson, see you later" she replied with a smile.

"See you later" Nurse Anderson stated and walked out of the surgery.

Patrick walked up to her desk and Shelagh said "Nurse Anderson is just the sweetest thing"

"She seems very kind" he replied and added "She informed me that one of her patients, Mrs. Dobson is terrified to give birth, and from what she has told me it seems much worse than the normal apprehension women face before giving birth"

"Is it her first?" she questioned

"No, this is her second pregnancy, what scares her the most is that she will have to have forceps again" he answered

"Forceps can be quite traumatizing for mothers" said Shelagh

"I came in here to ask you if you could accompany Nurse Anderson to her next home visit to see if you could try to calm her fears" he told her

"I can try" she replied and added "Labor was the most painful experience of my life and something I don't want to remember. But then I think of Teddy and the fact that at one point of my life I thought I would never give birth and all of the negative thoughts about it go away"

"You are so strong Shelagh, there is no way that I could have done that" he said as he lifted her hand up from the desk and kissed it.

"I just did what I had to do just like the thousands of Poplar women we have watched give birth over the years" she told him

They heard a woman call for a nurse from the maternity home and Shelagh said "Duty calls" as she got up from her chair and walked away.


	7. A Matter of Practicality (7x06)

Patrick was buttoning his jacket when Shelagh walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. He looked up to see her in uniform, a sight that he never minded seeing.

He smiled at her as she walked over to the mirror in their room. She smiled back and asked "What is it?"

"Just appreciating you in your uniform, it has been a while since I have seen you in it" he answered

"It's a matter of practicality and the last time I wore my uniform wasn't too long ago. Sister Winifred called and said that all the beds are full in the maternity home so whoever is coming in for the day shift is going to need an extra pair of hands" she told him as she pinned her cap into place.

"Well I quite like your practical side then" he said as he come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He planted a kiss on her neck which made her giggle. She turned around to face him so she could kiss him on the lips. She ran her hands through his hair as their kiss deepened which made him sigh.

Much too soon Shelagh broke their embrace and said "As much as I would like to stay in here a little while longer, we have things to do and people to see"

"Although I am sorry dearest but you are going to have to brush your hair again" she added laughing

"That was totally worth messing my hair up for" he replied smiling

Once he brushed his hair, they headed downstairs, ready to take on the day ahead.


	8. The Concert Situation (7x07)

Patrick was reading The Lancet and Shelagh was sewing a button on one of Angela's cardigans as they sat on the settee that night when Timothy approached them. Shelagh could tell that he was nervous about whatever he was about to ask for and she wondered what in the world he could possibly have to say. Timothy almost never got nervous when it came to approaching her and Patrick.

He hesitantly said "Dad, Mum, can I go to a concert with my friends Saturday night?"

Patrick looked up from his reading and replied "Who with, where and what band is it?"

"Andrew, Terry and Paul, at the Odeon Theatre and The Rolling Stones" he answered

"I don't think that I have ever heard of that band, what kind of music do they play?" Shelagh questioned lightly

"They're a rock n' roll band" he replied

Patrick had a stern look across his face as he tried to process all of the facts. Timothy looked at his parents, anxiously awaiting an answer as Shelagh looked at Patrick trying to figure out what he was going to say.

"Absolutely not, I don't like the idea of you going that far away without an adult" he stated

"But Dad I promise that we will stick together and come straight home afterwards and I've been dying to see The Rolling Stones in concert for the longest time" Timothy argued

"I just don't think that it is a good idea and I don't know how I feel about this rock n' roll music" Patrick countered

"Well you're just an old man that doesn't want to let me have fun" Timothy told him with an attitude

"Tim" Shelagh said scoldingly

Patrick sat up and wagged his finger as he said "I am the adult and you are the child and you are not allowed to speak to me that way"

He put his arm down and added "I'm not trying to take away the fun Tim, I am concerned about your safety"

After a moment of silence, Timothy said flatly "I am going bed, goodnight" and walked off before Shelagh or Patrick could reply. They went back to what they were doing before silently, with tension the weight of an elephant occupying the room. Shortly after, they went to bed, leaving much unresolved.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast the tension carried on. Only essential things were said that morning, no small talk or speaking of what went down the night before. Patrick was first to leave, saying his goodbyes to everyone and wished everyone a good day.

After she heard him drive off, Timothy asked "Do you think Dad should let me go to the concert?"

"I am concerned about your safety Tim and I can see where he is coming from, but I also want you to be able to hang out with your friends and have a good time. Your attitude about it was not okay" she answered

"I know that now and I feel bad about talking to him like that. Do you think that you could get him to change his mind?" he questioned

"I can try" she replied hesitantly

"Why do you sound uncertain when you say that" he said calmly

"He's being pulled in all directions at the moment, with the clinic, his surgery and Wadelock house" she told him

She paused and added "He just has a lot on him, that's all, but I will still try"

"Thanks Mum" he said

Timothy got up from the kitchen table, said his goodbyes and left for school.

* * *

Shelagh was tiding up the sitting room that night when she saw the headlights of Patricks GW pull into the driveway. Timothy was upstairs taking a shower and she had just put Angela and Teddy to bed. She was putting books back on the shelf when she heard the front door open and he walked in.

She turned to see a tired and weary Patrick standing before her. She smiled and said "Hello dear"

"Hello Shelagh" he replied with a weak smile.

"Did you have a bad day?" she asked him

"It was tiring, but I am fine" he answered

She knew what he was like after a tiring day, but something about the tone in his voice made her suspect that it was more than just a exhausting day. She walked over to him and said "Patrick, I know that it is something more than a tiring day, you know you can tell me anything"

He said "It's about something that I saw at Wadelock"

He paused to collect his thoughts as Shelagh quietly waited for hime to continue. He looked straight ahead as Shelagh stood beside him looking at the side of his face. He said "There's a local boy in there, same age as Tim. He troubles me."

"I know that must be hard" Shelagh replied

"He has a wife on the outside who happens to be pregnant. He knows what he did was wrong and wants to be by her side when she gives birth, but I am just not sure that it is possible. I also observed signs of self harm and he is picked on by the other inmates" he confided

"That's terrible, is there anything you can do to help?" she questioned

"I can see if I can try to speak for him at his court hearing so he can get out in time for the birth of his child" he answered

"Hopefully that will help. I will be praying for him and his wife and if there is anything I can do just let me know" she told him

"I will" he said

"It just makes me think about how grateful I am for my family. Then I think about what went down last night and I wonder if I was too hard on Tim" he added

"You had every right to be worried about his safety and he needs to apologize for his attitude, but there has to come a point where we have to trust that he knows what is right and wrong" she said

"You do make a good point, he is growing up and needs to given a little more independence. It is just hard for me to accept that he is growing up" he replied

"It is hard for me too, it seems like yesterday he was still flying his toy planes around the sitting room" she said

"I need to go talk to him" he told her

"Sounds good, love you" she told him and kissed his cheek.

"Love you too" he replied. She watched him walk up the stairs, hoping that they would work things out.

* * *

Patrick knocked on Timothy's door and let himself in. He walked over to his bed to find him sitting up in his bed reading a book.

"Tim" he said

He looked up from his book and said "Dad I'm sorry I called you old and had a bad attitude with you, I shouldn't have acted that way, even though I wasn't getting what I wanted"

"I accept your apology. I have been thinking and I have decided to allow you to go to the concert, but you go straight there and straight back and you have to be home by eleven" he told him

A huge smile crossed Timothy's face and he replied "Really? Thanks Dad"

Patrick leaned down to hug him and said "You're welcome. Just remember to watch your surroundings and to remember what you have been taught about right and wrong. Don't let your friends convince you to do anything you know you are not supposed to do, okay?" said Patrick

"I think I can manage that" Timothy answered

"Now don't stay up too late reading and I love you" he said

"I love you too Dad" he replied

Patrick shut Timothy's door, thankful for him and that their conflict was finally resolved.


	9. A Relapse (7x08)

Shelagh walked out of the bathroom and into the master bedroom late that night after taking a shower. She looked over to their bed to find that Patrick was not there. He was usually getting ready for bed by now on the nights he wasn't called out. She walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway but did not hear any footsteps downstairs. She furrowed her brow as she thought of where he might be, surely he would of told her if he got called out while she was in the shower. She walked down the stairs to the front door and opened it to find that the GW was still in the driveway. She closed and locked the front door and made her way into the sitting room. She found him standing outside in the patio area. As she walked closer to the glass that surrounded the area she saw him holding a lit cigarette in hand. She sighed at what she saw as she walked over to the door. She slipped on some shoes and opened the glass door to the patio area.

He looked up at her with complete shock and froze. She walked over to him and said gently with a hint of disappointment "Patrick"

"I'm so sorry Shelagh, it was just this one time since the day we learned that thalidomide caused birth defects" he told her regretfully

She knew that Patrick was a strong man, who had his imperfections like any other human, but the last relapse he had was caused by intense stress and guilt. There was the sudden influx of patients since the other maternity home closed, which while being a welcomed distraction from Barbara's death it also came with extra planning and lots of overtime at the surgery. But something in her suspected that it was more than the stress of work leading him to this point.

Still, she didn't want to jump conclusions so she asked "I know you wouldn't smoke for the fun of it after the promise you made to Timothy, what's wrong?" she asked softly

Patrick dropped what remained of the cigarette on the ground, crushed it with his foot and answered "Work has just been overwhelming, that's all, with the patients from the other maternity home and everything"

"Yes it has made things more difficult at the maternity home" she replied

They stood out there for a moment not saying anything, enjoying what seemed like the first quiet moment they had in days. They looked up at the stars, just delighted by one another's company. She looked over at him and saw that he was still uneasy about something. He had a sort of sadness and woefulness in his eyes as he looked up at the stars. She didn't want to seem like she was making something out of nothing and make him mad, but she also didn't want him to feel like he has to keep whatever is bothering him pent up inside for her sake either.

She followed her instincts and gently told him "Patrick, you know you can tell me anything. If there is something else going on, I want you to feel like you can confide in me"

He looked away from the sky and turned his gaze to her. They looked into each other's eyes as Patrick gathered his thoughts. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but then closed it again. Shelagh grabbed his arm and started stroking it as a silent encouragement to open up.

After what seemed like forever, he hesitantly replied "Since Barbara's funeral, Marianne has been on my mind a lot lately. I thought I had gotten past the hurt, but lately the painful memories of her death and that dark time afterwards have haunted my thoughts"

He sighed and added "And I shouldn't feel this way because I love so very much and if it wasn't for her passing I wouldn't have you. I also love Timothy, Angela and Teddy dearly and I wouldn't have Angela or Teddy without you. I have so much to be thankful for and I feel like I am taking it all for granted when I think about her"

"It's okay to be sad sometimes and I know I don't completely understand what you are going through because I have not gone through it myself, but I'm here for you, no matter what. I want you to come to me before you feel like cigarettes are the only way to escape your pain" she said and put her arm around him

"It just gets so hard not to sometimes" he told her

"I know" she said gently

Shelagh shivered and Patrick stated "It is getting kind of cold out here, I think we should head back inside"

"That sounds good" she replied

They went inside and up to their bedroom so they could get some rest and they held on to one another as they fell asleep.


End file.
